Honest and professional ministers From Republika The next president will soon be occupying the office for a five-year term. The president may even be reelected for another term if he or she succeeds in carrying out his or her duties. The government will run well only if the president and the Cabinet work together in an honest and professional manner. That means that all of the ministers will have to be capable in their respective fields.

More Buyat residents to have blood test in Jakarta Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Ten more residents of Buyat Pantai village in North Sulawesi are scheduled to fly to Jakarta next week to undergo a blood test to provide evidence of mercury poisoning, allegedly caused by tailings of a gold mining company in the province.

WEBSITE: Tolong pakai yang ini Nothing lost in translation of 'Durga/Umayi' Jennifer Lindsay Contributor Jakarta ------------------------------------ Durga/Umayi Y.B. Mangunwijaya, translated by Ward Keeler.

Thaksin admits troops 'impatient' THAILAND: Thai security forces may have overreacted when they stormed a mosque in the violence-torn south and killed 32 young Muslims in April, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said on Saturday. The security forces should have displayed more patience, Thaksin said in his weekly radio address.

Epidemic fear hits South Asia in flood's wake Anis Ahmed, Reuters, Dhaka Fears of an epidemic stalked flood-hit regions of South Asia on Saturday, with thousands of sick people flocking hospitals as rivers receded. Officials said nearly 7,000 people reported at hospitals with diarrhea and other water-borne diseases on Friday in Bangladesh, which has been worst hit by this year's monsoon flooding in the subcontinent that has claimed about 1,300 in the last one month.

Universitas Bina Nusantara offers international program for bright students Jakarta is not Perth or Melbourne. But the capital of Indonesia has a linkage with the two Australian cities - at least, in the field of education, as developed by Universitas Bina Nusantara (UBiNus). The university is offering an international education in cooperation with Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Western Australia, and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Victoria.

Panwaslu urged to examine police neutrality The Jakarta Post Jakarta/Purwokerto/Yogyakarta Pressure mounted on Friday on the Election Supervisory Body (Panwaslu) to conduct a comprehensive investigation into police neutrality across the country in the wake of the video compact disc affair that led to the replacement of the Banyumas Police chief. Law expert Luhut M.

Finding the way to the right overseas college Simon Marcus Gower, Executive Principal, High/Scope Indonesia School, Jakarta The world of education, by its very nature, has to be a world of change. A world that changes in response to the needs of people in terms of the education they need and the qualifications that will allow them to make progress in the world beyond their educational experiences in an institutional setting.

In the swim of things with sport as inspiration Emiria Wijayanti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The Atrium of Plaza Senayan in Central Jakarta was roped off for invitees and judges, with the runway set smack in the center of the bustling mall. Accompanied by the blaring background music, it was enough to attract the curiosity of Sunday afternoon mall- goers. Last week, the Plaza Senayan Palm Awards: Young Indonesian Creative Fashion Contest marked its fifth anniversary.

~ADVERTORIAL -- GIBT offers international bachelor degrees within highly contextualized curricula Offering internationally respected Charles Sturt University (CSU) bachelor degree courses in business studies, information technology (IT) and marketing communications, the Ghandi Institute of Business and Technology (GIBT) offers a unique opportunity for Indonesians to prepare themselves to face the challenges of globalization in Indonesia.

GM's dealerships open in Bandung, Semarang JAKARTA: PT General Motors Indonesia (GMI) announced last Thursday that it has opened two new Chevrolet dealerships in Bandung and Semarang to further strengthen its customer service outside the Greater Jakarta area. Both dealerships offer sales, service and spare parts services operated by two different companies.

How to prevent traffic congestion When it comes to kemacetan (traffic jams), everyone has an opinion on who are the guilty parties. Most of the time, bus and bajaj drivers are blamed for the daily congestion on the city's streets. What people forget is that traffic is like a piped water system: If you stop the water at one point, the whole network is affected.

Pursuing quality education to access a good job Sudibyo M. Wiradji, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta Many parents expect their children to have a bright future by having access to a good job after graduating from university. However, completing a course of study at a university is not necessarily a guarantee of getting a good job. In today's global economy, more companies are now inclined to seek prospective employees with international-standard proficiency in a foreign language.

How to prevent traffic congestion When it comes to kemacetan (traffic jams), everyone has an opinion on who are the guilty parties. Most of the time, bus and bajaj drivers are blamed for the daily congestion on the city's streets. What people forget is that traffic is like a piped water system: If you stop the water at one point, the whole network is affected.

Boyfriend named suspect in murder of pregnant student Police arrested on Saturday a Trisakti University student for killing his pregnant girlfriend, Amanda Defina, a 22-year-old student of the same university. West Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Suhardi Alius told the press they had arrested the primary suspect in the case, Ronald Johannes Ardean, 23. "During his interrogation, the suspect confessed to losing control and killing (his girlfriend)," Suhardi said.

SE Asia urged to cooperate to counter globalization ills Agencies, Bangkok Leaders of Southeast and South Asian nations urged quicker, closer cooperation in moving toward long-term economic goals as the best weapon to counter the perils of globalization. "We need to be wise to the ways of globalization ...

~ADS -- already approved by clients, but still need a language check Universitas Bina Nusantara Offers International Programs for Bright Students lease see queries in yellow below Jakarta is not Perth or Melbourne. But the capital of Indonesia has a link with the two Australian cities -- at least in the field of education, as developed by Universitas Bina Nusantara (UBiNus).

Int'l-standard schools: Road to a better future Suroso, Contributor, Yogyakarta The number of schools offering international curricula continue to increase from year to year, offering more options for parents to provide world-class education to their children without having to send them abroad.

Time for quick tune up as radio stations alter frequencies Starting from Sunday, radio listeners will have to make adjustments when tuning into their favorite FM station, as the stations are changing radio frequency. The frequency shift complies with Directorate General of Post and Telecommunications Decree No. 15A/2004 on the reorganization of the country's radio frequency bandwidth usage. FM radio stations operate in the band between 87.50 megahertz (MHz) and 108.00 MHz.

PPP declare backing for Mega in runoff The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Surabaya The Muslim-based United Development Party (PPP) decided on Saturday to throw its support behind President Megawati Soekarnoputri and running mate Hasyim Muzadi in the Sept. 20 runoff.

'Durga/Umayi': Nothing lost in translation of a modern classic Jennifer Lindsay, Contributor, Singapore ------------------------------------ Durga/Umayi Y.B. Mangunwijaya, translated by Ward Keeler. University of Washington Press, in association with Singapore University Press, 2004 212 pp Rp 220,000 ---------------------------- Mangunwijaya's novel Durga Umayi, published in 1991, is a remarkable work for many reasons, not least of which its fiendish language play and experimentation with form.

Protesters return to 'ground zero' in Kuta to denounce court ruling Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Badung, Bali Dozens of people claiming to represent a number of non- governmental organizations (NGOs) rallied near the Bali "ground zero" in Kuta tourist resort on Saturday to protest a Constitutional Court decision that declared an antiterrorism law not legally binding.

Sprouting ideas Photo credit: JP Some nursery students sing a song about vegetables and fruit at a science exhibition at Texmaco DPS International School, Karawang, West Java. The one-day exhibition was opened by The Jakarta Post's deputy chief editor Endy M. Bayuni on Saturday. "We organize this event every year to promote interest in science among schoolchildren and to encourage their creativity," principal Manoj Dubey said.

Businessman gets death for fraud VIETNAM: A Vietnamese businessman will face the firing squad for defrauding investors out of US$1.6 million, state media said on Saturday. Tran van Giao, the director of a privately owned construction company, was sentenced to death on Friday by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court, the ruling Communist Party's Nhan Dan newspaper said. His deputy was given a 12-year jail sentence. The government has vowed to crack down on economic crime.

Nothing lost in translation of Mangunwijaya's 'Durga/Umayi' Jennifer Lindsay Contributor Jakarta ------------------------------------ Durga/Umayi Y.B. Mangunwijaya, translated by Ward Keeler. University of Washington Press, in association with Singapore University Press, 2004 212 pp.

SE Asia urged to cooperate THAILAND: Leaders of Southeast and South Asian nations urged quicker, closer cooperation in moving toward long-term economic goals as the best weapon to counter the perils of globalization. "We need to be wise to the ways of globalization ... forge closer cooperation, finding our strength, turning adversity into prosperity," said Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra as he opened the first summit of a regional grouping known by the acronym BIMST-EC on Saturday.

Natural selection: What is the case for going organic Susanna Tjokro, Contributor, Jakarta Organic-labeled vegetables have landed in some supermarkets as well as high-end shops in Jakarta, largely due to growing interest in a "healthy" lifestyle. It's a good start, but Indonesia has yet to catch on to organic fever spreading in many countries. Even so, a few organic-minded individuals are going against the mainstream of regularly farmed products.

Nissan Serena back in town with more features Novan Iman Santosa Jakarta Automobile enthusiasts surely remember a smart multipurpose van (MPV) during the late 1990s that looked like it was one step ahead of everything else on the market, without much competition to face. The Nissan Serena was first introduced in 1996, although it was only around for two years.

Inscriptions Museum putting some life into its image Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta In an attempt to enliven the gloomy and morbid image of the Inscriptions Museum (Museum Taman Prasasti), the Jakarta Historical Museum management, which also manages Museum Taman Prasasti, held an event called Sound and Light, on Saturday evening.

Puppeteer Tizar a one-man show for Betawi arts Emiria Wijayanti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta On most days of the week, apart from now and then stopovers by tourists, Jl. Surabaya in Menteng, Central Jakarta, seems quiet and deserted. It's a pity, for it is home to some of the best -- or at least, intriguing -- examples of Indonesian art forms.

Refugees reach Phnom Penh CAMBODIA: A final group of 31 ethnic Vietnamese hill tribespeople who fled persecution in their country arrived in the Cambodian capital on Saturday, a UN official said. The men and six women were taken to a United Nations shelter, bringing to 198 the number of tribespeople in Phnom Penh under the protection of the world body, said Cathy Shin, an officer for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.